Broken glasses
by Catnip Witch
Summary: Okumura twins. The older one has a temper of a demon and the younger one a face of an angel. But which one is really a demon? The only thing Rin wishes is for his brother to be happy. But that is impossible. Even he can't protect his brother from the truth. In short, Yukio is the one who inherited Satan's flames. My first story :P Hope you enjoy it
1. The truth my brother must never know

**The truth my brother must never know**

I never really paid attention to my father during his lectures. Well, they were always about the same stuff so it didn't matter. Every one could be put into single sentence: Fighting is bad! Or, at least, fighting with humans is bad. I had to smirk thinking about the old man getting into much worse fights than I did. He was fighting demons after all. For that one I obtained a punch to the head.

"What was that funny, heh?" asked father Fujimoto displeased with my reaction.

"You're scolding me about getting into fights, but the truth is, that as an exorcist, you are fighting much more than I do."

"Shush!" was the only answer I got as the old man turned towards my little brother who just entered the room.

"Did you get into another fight, Nii-san?"

Yukio smiled at me slightly, grabbed me by my hand and forced me to go with him so he could tend to my injuries. Luckily he didn't hear anything of what i had said. He must never learn about any of that. I thought bitterly while trying to look manly since Yukio was disinfecting my wounds. I had never problems in dealing with pain but I couldn't stand that stinging.

"Does it hurt?" My twin asked me with a kind smile.

He resembled an angel. _But he is a complete opposite._ The thought crossed my mind and I shook my head in an answer. My brother was no angel. In fact, he was a demon. But he must never know about that. _That's right. He must never know. It is better that way. It is okay, if I am the bad demon twin. He will be a doctor, he will meet a beautiful nurse, they will get married, have some kids and live a normal life. That's how it should be. I will make sure that it will._ The only thing I ever wanted was for my brother to be happy. And that would not be easy, if he knew, that he was the son of Satan. Well, we both were. But I was a human. My brother was the only one who inherited demonic powers. Yet, I was the one who got stuck with the nickname Demon. Not that I really mind. Still, I hate when they call me like that. The others have no idea what the real demons are like.

That night I couldn't sleep. To be honest, I was a little bit nervous. The next day I had a job interview a I didn't want to mess up. But it wasn't the only thing that kept bugging me. My brother was leaving. He managed to get into True cross academy. Remarkable, wasn't it? My brother was a genius. But I couldn't bear the fact, that he would leave my side. We were always together. And what's more, it was THAT academy he had chosen. Neither I or father said anything, but we didn't like it. It was not a normal school. The future exorcists were also educated there. It shouldn't be a problem. Yukio wouldn't find out, but I didn't like it. He would be too close to the world I wanted to keep him away from.

I tssked at the thought and sat up.

"Nii-san, are you awake?" came the voice of my brother.

I stand up and found my face in front of my brother's. We had a bunk bed and Yukio slept in the top bunk. He was lying on his side, hand under his head. Those azure eyes we shared glowing in the night. For a moment it seemed that there are little blue flames inside them.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked him silently.

Yukio closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, I couldn't sleep. Won't you come sleep with me?"

My eyes widened at the proposal and suddenly a light smile appeared on my lips. It was a long time since he asked me to sleep with him. We used to cuddle in one bed a lot when we were kids. But as we got older, we stopped doing that. _Well, this might be the last time ever._ I did as he wanted and slipped under his sheets. Unfortunately, the bed was too small for both of us.

"Maybe I should go to my bed. We are packed here like sardines," I suggested but my brother grabbed the sleeve of my pajamas and refused to let go.

"Don't go. This might be the last time we can do this," he smiled as if he could read my mind and after a few minutes he was fast asleep.

I hugged him and closed my eyes. "Tomorrow will be a hell of a day," I murmured falling asleep.

I had no idea how right I was.

When I woke up the next day, Yukio was already on his feet.

"'Morning," I yawned and sat up.

No answer. I looked at my twin just to see him staring through the window in horror.

"Hey, what's up?"

I jumped down from the bed and walked to my brother.

"What is that?" He asked me, eyes wide open.

I looked out of window to see nothing but a coal tar floating in the air as usual.

"What do you mean?" I watched the face of my twin as he blinked in confusion and bit his lip.

"I'm sorry. I...I must be still a little bit tired," he murmured and left the room.

I stayed in the place, frowning. _He couldn't mean the coal tar, now could he?_ With the hope that it was really just my brother being tired and nervous from his new school I dressed up and went for my interview. I stopped one of the priests on my way and asked him where father Fujimoto was. He told me that father went on a mission and won't be back until the evening. That wasn't the answer what I hoped for so I just asked him to keep an eye on Yukio. I had a really bad feeling and had to fight off the idea of rushing back home while taking the interview. I wanted to get a job in a local restaurant. I didn't think that it was the right job for me, but with a little bit of a luck I would get into the kitchen. Suddenly, my phone started ringing. Maybe I should have turned it off, but I didn't. I had a feeling that I would be needed. And I was right. It was my brother who was calling.

"N-nii-san!" I heard him sobbed.

That was all I needed. I ran out off the room completely forgetting everything about the interview.

"What happened, Yukio?" I asked him seriously.

I heard another sob and had to wait half a minute for the answer.

"I...I d-don't r-really know," the scared voice of my brother said silently.

After that he started crying and I couldn't do anything but to wait for him to calm down. It was pretty scary. The last time I saw him crying was in elementary school. _What happened that he is in that shape?_ Now I was concerned.

"Never mind, Yukio. Just tell where you are. Are you at home?"

"No," immediate reply.

"I am in s-some alley. N-near t-that playground we used to play on as kids," he seemed to be calmer, but his voice was still shaking.

It seemed that hearing my voice helped him.

"Got it, I'll be right there in a minute. Wait for me," I said and hung up.

Then I started running. It was a long run but I was a fast runner with good stamina. I got there in less than 30 minutes.

"Yukio!" I shout when passing by the playground.

"H-here!" I almost didn't hear him.

I went to the alley where the voice was coming from and stopped in a shock. I couldn't believe my eyes. _No! It can't be! Just no!_ My twin was curled up in a corner, his glasses broken, clothes dirty and tore at some places and bloody mark on his neck. But the worst thing, his body was engulfed in flames. Blue flames.


	2. The night falls

**Hey guys, the second chapter is here!**

 **But before that I want to answer Anon's question considering Rin (I didn't know how to reply in reviews). Well, Rin knows about demons and he wants to protect his brother so he is not totally powerless against demons. But I don't really want to make him an exorcist as Yukio is in AnE (I didn't like that idea). And I want to remind you that this will be a completely different story since Yukio is going to react differently and Rin's character is a little bit...mature? Well, you'll see :D**

 **Also English is not my mother language so I would be glad if you pointed out any mistakes you find. I promise to work hard to correct them :)**

 **Thanks for following and ...favoriting? (not sure)**

 **Enjoy :3**

* * *

 **The night falls**

"Here. Your tea," I put the cup in front of my brother and looked at his face carefully.

He was scared. I had never seen him that scared in my whole life. I made him to take a shower and change his clothes, but wasn't able to made him talk. He would always start crying so I put a blanket on him and told him to calm down. I hoped that the tea would help. I noticed that Yukio checked his hands from time to time to see if the flames were still there. Luckily, they weren't.

"It was a dream. It must have been," I heard my brother murmured.

 _It would be nice if it was._ I thought and had to bit my lip while anger grew in my chest. Of course, this must have happened while the old man was gone! I watched my brother taking a sip and then putting the cup on the table again never planning to touch it again.

"Nii-san, what is wrong with me?" he asked me with a calm low voice.

The thought that I had to tell him the truth almost ripped my heart. I opened my mouth just to find out it was completely dry and shut it again. I realized that my twin is watching me waiting for some kind of an answer.

"Come here," I hugged him and ruffled his head.

That way I wouldn't need to look into those sad eyes and would be able to get him some kind of comfort. He didn't say a word and just leaned his head against my shoulder. I was thinking about the way how to tell him properly and most importantly, gently. _The old man should tell him. Not me. I am no good at such things._ I sighed and prepared for the worst. I pushed my brother away so I would be able to look him in the eyes.

"Yukio, this...this isn't something that is easy to tell and explain and...damn, you know I am not good at explaining things," I started my speech watching the face of my twin.

He didn't say anything. He just nodded and waited what is it I wanted to tell him.

"Well, you remember when we were kids and I broke something? And I always accused demons of doing that? You see, it wasn't a lie. Demons are real and they live in Gehenna. But sometimes they come to Assiah. The old man is an exorcist and he is fighting demons and...ehem.." I tried to tell him everything at once, but failed at that.

"Nii-san, did you hit your head?"

I frowned and glared at him. He was looking at me like I was really crazy. Truth be told, I didn't expect different reaction even if my explaining made some sense.

"No and I know it sounds crazy, but the most important thing is that demons really exists. And you..the reason you were...ehem...burning at that time was...was..." my voice betrayed me and I snorted.

"No, I'm really no good at this. It will be better if the old man tells you that," I shook my head and looked away.

"Nii-san," I felt my brother's hand at my shoulder, "please, tell me, what is going on?"

I looked at him sadly and at the end, I forced myself to tell him this: "You are the son of Satan."

After that we didn't speak much with each other the whole day. Yukio was trying to process that fact while one of the priests was explaining to him the whole thing with the demons. And I? I had my hands full with waiting for father to return. I only prayed that it wouldn't be something else to show itself before father did.

 _They must already know about Yukio. That seal is pretty weak now. Hopefully, no demon will show until night._ Surely, I didn't want them to show themselves even after that. But something was telling me, that we wouldn't be that lucky. And there was another thing bugging me. I still didn't know why Yukio was surrounded by those flames back then.

 _It shouldn't be possible. The seal might be weak, but is still holding. He is still human. Right?! Something must have happened. He was beaten up. Oh, I will kill that son of a bitch who hurt my brother! Just wait till I found out who it was!_ Thinking about the all possible ways how to beat a shit out of someone was enough to keep my mind away from worries. I didn't want to think about the worst. And that was my brother becoming a demon.

 _When the old man comes back, he will do something. Yukio will be alright._ I already knew that that was a lie. Father told me that he wasn't the one who made the seal so he couldn't do a thing once it's broken.

 _At least it can't be broken completely unless the sword is drawn out of a scabbard._ I thought about the old sword my father showed me once. The demon slaying sword Kurikara. My brother's demon powers were sealed there. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to check on it. Father was the only one who had the key to the sword. All I could do was wait.

I looked at the sky. It was already orange as the night was coming. Suddenly, I realized that I was afraid. I didn't want the night to come. Father Fujimoto was the one I wanted. He would check Kurikara, give an encouraging talk to Yukio and ruffle both of our heads like he used to when we were little. I sighed, leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes.

The glass was cold and pleasant to touch. It helped me cool my head. I stayed like that for some time. But once I opened my eyes I knew we were in trouble. It seemed that there was much more of coal tar than it used to be and in the dark corners of building I could see demon's eyes glaring at me. I took a few steps back from the window and inspected the sky. The sun was nowhere to be found and darkness was spreading across the town. I hurried into my room and found Yukio sitting on my bed.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him hesitantly.

My brother looked at me his eyes puffy with traces of tears on his cheeks. It all was without a doubt a huge shock for him. Yet, he managed a sad smile.

"Better, I guess. Is everything alright?" He asked me when I crouched down to the floor and started putting out my stuff from under the bed.

"Nothing to be worried about. For now," I assured him and pulled out a bag.

I opened it and took out of it a short katana. It didn't look special. It was a shirasaya, a plain wooden blade mount consisting of scabbard and hilt without a guard and proper handle wrappings. There was a surprised look on my brother's face accompanied with words: "I had no idea you had something like that."

I sneered and continued unpacking my stuff. There were some papers with prepared summoning circles, five holly water grenades and belt. I put the belt around my waist, sword and grenades in it and papers into my pocket. Then I gave the last look to my brother.

"You don't need to worry about a thing. Your big brother will take care of everything. You just stay here," I said and walked outside before my twin had a chance to ask something.

 _I am an awful big brother._ I didn't want to answer his questions. I didn't even know how to answer some of them. Oh well, I didn't know how to answer any of them! And what could I possibly tell him now? 'Stay here, we are about to be attacked by demons that want to do bad things to you'?

Hell no! _That sounds weird and...that part about 'bad things' is a little bit perverted. Or maybe it just sounds like that in my head. Am I a pervert now?_ I came to a conclusion that thinking was bad for me and stopped with that annoying action. Two of the priests rushed towards me the moment they saw me. (ehem...I don't remember any of their names and ...well...they are not important for the plot sooo...sorry :P)

"He is not back," they answered the question I never had an opportunity to ask.

I was trying to look like I didn't really care about whether my father was or was not back. I didn't think I succeeded.

"What about barrier?" I asked instead.

"We are setting the fourth one," one of them replied, "but I don't think they will last for long."

I nodded and tried to put an emotionless mask on my face.

"Hope it's gonna be long enough. Otherwise it will not be nice."

After I said that, both of them looked at me and then smirked.

"What?" I snarled at them.

"Rin-kun, you almost look mature now."

I blushed a little and then yelled at them in an attempt to hide embarrassment.

"What the fuck you think about me? I am mature! And what was supposed to mean that 'almost'?"

They laughed at me and I couldn't stop a little smile appearing on my lips. There was nothing to laugh about but it help to relax the atmosphere.

"Rin-kun, is it THAT sword?" They asked me after a minute.

My smile vanished and I murmured 'yes' as an answer.

"Father Fujimoto forbade to use it unless we are in desperate situation," the priest reminded me.

"And what do you call this situation if not desperate? But...I don't want to use it. And I won't. I am not willing to pay the price for its power," I paused and then corrected myself.

"No. I will use it if I don't have another option. I hope you will forgive me if i do that. I... I will do anything to protect Yukio."

I could see a dismay at men's faces but also some kind of sympathy. The understood my feelings. _But I don't want to use that cursed sword._ It was not a toy. I knew that. That sword was dangerous and I would be no better than those demons if I used it. But I would do that for my brother.

"They are coming!"

I heard a warning and pulled out papers with magic circles. I bent a knee and put one of them on the ground. All priests took their positions and prepared for fight. Two of them started chanting to strengthen the barriers. Another summoned his familiar and that was what I was planning to do too.

I took a deep breath and stopped paying them attention. I pressed my thumb against my teeth and bit it. When I felt blood on my tongue, I quickly pressed the bleeding finger against the prepared paper. I hesitated for a while deciding which one of my familiars would be the best. Not that I had many. I could summon more than one but I decided not to do that. It wouldn't be safe if I lost my concentration. And, well, that already happened once. It wasn't the best moment when four of your familiars were trying to eat you alive. And if I was reckless, they would be able to destroy monastery and endanger Yukio. Finally, I made up my mind and looked for the right words.

" _The one fallen from the moon. The one put among the stars. The king of beasts, hear my plea."_

As I said a cloud of smoke rose from the ground. It grew big as a horse, glittered and formed a golden lion. His fur was hard and looked like an armor of golden scales. His eyes were red and silver teeth bared. His mane and tuft at the end of his tail were of copper color. I would never dare to pet his head, but I was sure, that if I did, I would shred my hand into ribbons. The Nemean lion glared at me and growled, sinking his claws into the wooden floor. _He is displeased._ I realized and hid the summoning paper. The lion might have not been the best choice, but I was sure, that I would be able to manage it somehow.

"Sorry to disturb you, buddy," I smiled at him as lamps went out and coal tar got inside the monastery.

"I need your help."

* * *

 **Yay, sorry but no more for this chapter :P**

 **Hope you liked it.**

 **If something's not clear I will gladly answer any questions :D**

 **The next one is gonna be the fight against the demons...finally.**

 **Thanks for reading**


	3. It is a fish name

**Hey guys! Guess who finally found out the password from her account?! Oh, alright it took like two minutes to find it out so I don't really have any convincing excuses for not updating for... wow! that was long... well, I surely have a talent for not losing my readers o.o I don't really know if anybody remembers this story, but if there is someone who was actually waiting for this... THE THIRD CHAPTER IS OUT! It's not really long, but in the end I was able to kick my big lazy ass and write something soooo...it's better than nothing for another year right? Right?!**

 **While I was writing this I made an oath to myself to write one chapter every week but... well, you know :P**

 **Also the name of this chapter...it's midnight alright! I just didn't know how to name this xD**

* * *

 **I wonder whether he realizes it is a fish name**

Fighting against demons inside the building is the worst. And even worse than that is fighting inside the place where I grew up.

Every time the demons attacked, some parts of my home were destroyed. _If it continues like this, there won't be any monastery when the old man returns._ I thought angrily.

Coal tar was everywhere and new ghouls appeared every minute. I stayed beside one of the priests who was chanting with the sheathed sword in my hand. I didn't dare to unsheathe it, not yet. But I used it as a rod hitting every demon that dared to come too close. And they did dare.

One of the ghouls that had an appearance of a dog with his ribs sticking out of his rotten body charged at me at a speed that I had to wonder how it was possible that its decaying body didn't break apart. I hit it hard with the sword right into the right eye. The ghoul screamed. I've never heard more unpleasant sound in my life. Imagine a cat being chocked to death multiplied by twenty times. You got it? Well, this was worse. But not as bad as the stench of a dead body.

Suddenly, I realized that I couldn't breathe. Only then I noticed the cloud of miasma surrounding the ghoul's body. How could I have overlooked something like that?! And as if it wasn't enough, I couldn't pull the sword out! I struggled for about a minute and eventually managed to get my sword out of the creature's eye. Too bad I was paralysed for quite a while. Out of oxygen I was trying to focus on the battle. But it wasn't that easy.

The ghoul would surely has torn me into pieces unless my familiar had appeared. The Nemean lion charged at the zombie dog taking him into the mouth and crushing him between his teeth. When the big cat spit it out there was only some of the bones and rotten flesh. It looked like the lion ate half of it.

I tried not the vomit thinking about the taste of a dead body and turned to my familiar.

"Thanks, Nemo!" I managed a smile.

The big cat growled displeased with that nickname. Well, I actually didn't know whether he had a real name. The old man said that Nemean lion wasn't his name but had no idea how I should call him. So I chose Nemo. But it seemed the big cat hated it. _I wonder whether he realizes it is a fish name._ I hoped he didn't see Finding Nemo. Actually I named him Nemo III. The first Nemo was from the movie and the second one was Yukio's golden fish that had to leave to fight the evil kraken... _Now that I think about it, why the hell would a tiny fish leave its family to fight a kraken?_

The lion jumped back into the chaos and I quickly put myself together. There will be the time to worry about the long lost pet later. The priest behind me was in need of my sword-stick.

"There is too many demons. How the hell did so many get inside?"

I felt a little bit uneasy. I never really felt nervous neither scared fighting demons. But now I had both of these feelings. Something was wrong. We knew that once the long suppressed flames leak through the seal it will alert the demons nearby and draw them near. But I couldn't believe that so many demons would appear. And they got through the barriers like it was nothing. I didn't like it at all.

"There is no way we are gonna kill them all! We should grab Yukio and get out of here!" I shouted for everyone to hear.

Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking that. We all pulled back into the corridor protected by another barrier and hurried to my and Yukio's room. He was waiting there, fear in his eyes and another priest by his side.

"Is it bad?" the priest asked immediately.

We all nodded and I grabbed Yukio dragging him along and trying to ignore his questions. There would be plenty of time for the question-answer thing later. I squeezed his hand hard and didn't allow him to wreck it free running toward the back exit. The priests were much slower and unfortunately, so was Yukio.

"Nii-san! Too fast... slow down!" He almost screamed but I didn't listen.

 _Sorry, Yukio. But we need to get out as soon as possible._ I tightened my grip and kept running.

"Rin! Wait! What about Kurikara?" I heard the priests yelling at me and I slowed down.

 _Shit! I completely forgot about it!_ I cursed and let go of my brother's hand.

"Nii-san?" Yukio stared at me with a confusion but I chose to ignore him.

 _He will be pissed at me a lot later._ I knew he wouldn't forgive me for my behavior that easily. Yet I didn't try to be a bit considerate at all. _What should we do about the sword?_ We couldn't go get it. We didn't have an access to it. But we couldn't just leave the sword here together with demons. I was completely lost there.

"If we leave it where it is, will the demons get to it?" I asked them but they didn't seem to know more than I did.

"Nii-san, what is Kurikara?" Yukio asked stretching his hand.

It seemed that my grip had been too tight. I could already see a bruise around his wrist.

"It's a sword where your powers are sealed," I answered shortly and bit my lip thinking.

Not that I was able to come to anything like a solution to this problem.

"You get Yukio to the safety. I will head back and wait for the old man. Once he returns, we will grab koumaken and meet you guys," I decided.

No one was happy about it, of course, but at the end they all agreed to that plan. Except for Yukio.

"You said there are demons, right? Then it's dangerous!"

"Don't you worry about me," I smiled, "Nemo will protect me."

"What? Nemo? Like the Captain Nemo of Nautilus?"

"What the hell?" I looked at my brother with absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Never mind, I will be right back. I promise," I said and run back the way we came.

I had the feeling they were following me for a while but I was a way faster than any of them. It is kind of strange actually. My physical ability, I mean. I'd always been a lot stronger than anyone else. Well, I guess I should say that I'd always been stronger than the others. Someone, I really don't remember who, once suggested that it was because I was a half-demon too, but all my medical examinations brought the same results. I was just an ordinary human being. There was nothing supernatural about my body. I was just strong and fast and that was all. Well, that and short-tempered on the top of that. The mix of the those things never ends well, especially in my case.

I didn't noticed when but suddenly I was at the edge of the barrier. I stopped at the end of the hallway and looked to the eyes of a furry demon with a head of a crow. The furry demon exchanged looks with me, then cawed at me and disappeared into Nemo's stomach the next second.

"Yummy," I grinned and stayed behind the barrier watching my familiar jumping from one demon onto another chewing their heads off. Seriously, he could be such a brute some times. But I liked him nonetheless. He saved my life multiple times after all.

I stayed where I was, waiting for the old priest who might have not been coming for the next few hours, watching the bloody carnage my familiar was causing and in the end questioning my sanity. Seeing Nemo tearing bodies into shreds had not affected me at all. Normal people would be at least disgusted or pretty much horrified, wouldn't they? _When did I get used to something like this?_ Being a violent child is one thing but even I wasn't really alright after seeing a demon getting eliminated for the first time. It wasn't a nice scene. And I was just a kid at that time. I actually had nightmares after that, but I never told anyone. Thank God I never screamed in my sleep while having a bad dream.

Suddenly, I felt something was wrong. Yet it took me a while to figure it out what exactly. _The miasma!_ I realized that I was suddenly engulfed by it. _The barrier got broken!_ I frowned and reached for a holy water grenade in my belt. But before I could do anything with the weapon, something hit me so hard that it sent me flying into the wall. It hurt. Damn, it hurt! But before I could get back to my feet, the same unknown force (or at least I thought it was the same one) grabbed me by my neck and pushed me against the wall. I tried to hit it with the sheathed sword but then I found out that I didn't hold it in my hand anymore. I must have dropped it during the impact.

"You know, Okumura, I was kind of surprised to find out that your brother was the demon one. It kind of disappointed me. And know I am disappointed once more. To think you are this weak..." an evil smirk ran across my attacker's face and I realized that I recognized it. Yet I really doubted that this scary teenager with horns and a tail was the same Reiji Shiratori I used to get into fights with.

 **In the memory of Nemo II,**

 **my brother's beloved fish**

 **I swear I fed her every day!**


	4. So it begins

**And so it begins**

I struggled but it was to no avail. The only thing I achieved was that the punk strengthened his grip. At that time it started to be really painful.

"Who are you?" I intended to yell those words but when they came out of my mouth they were as loud as a whisper.

"I'm really hurt, Okumura. Don't you recognize me? You beat me just yesterday, remember?"

"I beat Shiratori. And you are not him."

The demon stared at me for a couple of seconds and then he burst out laughing.

"What gave me away?" he snickered tilting his head.

It would have been great if I could punch the jerk into the face for an attempt to crush my neck and mainly for attacking my brother, yet I was not in situation to do so.

I collected every bit of my strength and called out for my familiar. The lion charged at the demon, his fangs bared and claws ready for another massacre. But before he could dig them deep into his prey, a cloud of smoke engulfed him and the beast disappeared.

"That shock on your face, that's priceless!" the demon laughed madly waving the piece of paper with Nemo's summoning seal ripped by his long nails in front of my eyes.

If it looked grim before it was nothing compared to my current situation. My familiar was gone, my sword too and I was pinned against the wall, struggling with myself not to loose consciousness. There was really no way out of this.

"Bye, bye, Okumura," the demon sang while rising his arm preparing for the final blow.

 _So this is it_ , I thought closing my eyes hoping that at least Yukio was able to get to the safety. I waited for what seemed to be an eternity but there was no blow, no sudden pain, just nothing! He didn't strike. Instead of that a cry of pain escaped from his own mouth. He let go of my neck and after falling to the ground I looked up expecting to see the old man's smiling face with a cigarette between his lips and a gun or a sword in his hand. But I only saw the demon in Shiratori's body with his hands covered by the blue flames.

"Nii-san!"

Hearing my brother's voice was the best and the most painful thing right now. I somehow managed to get on my feet and stumbled toward Yukio and the priests.

"What the hell are you..."

I wanted to yell at them for not taking my brother away and endangering him more than necessary but I shut up after getting a glimpse of the blue haze in Yukio's eyes and two small flames in his hair.

A fear struck me mute but it was not because of the blue fire. Never in my life had I seen my brother with a scarier expression. The contours of his face looked rougher and the look in his eyes was a pure hatred and rage.

"Yukio!" I called his name hoping it would bring him back from that trance-like state.

Luckily, it worked. He blinked and those flames flickered until they vanished. He turned his head toward me, a worry replacing the rage.

"Nii-san, are you alright?"

A sight of relief escaped my lips. Yet there was no time to reply.

"You fucking little shit!" the demon howled, flames no longer dancing on his arms.

Even though his quick regeneration had already kicked in I got a glimpse at the ugly burns caused by my brother. Somehow I felt pride looking at what my brother did. It should have scared me, but it didn't. Sure, Yukio could be scary especially when he was glaring at you, but it was his angry face not his unholy power that was able to put a fear into my heart.

"Em, Yukio? You might want to do that magic fire trick again," I suggested stepping back with with everyone else, trying to put as much distance between us and the demon as possible.

"I...I can't!" my twin exclaimed, a panic in his voice.

"I don't know how," he admitted.

 _Well, that was expected. I guess he didn't really know what he was doing in first place. It must have been just an emotional outburst after seeing me on the verge of death._

"Alright, then step back," I raised my hand to keep to keep my brother behind my back while taking out another of my summoning papers.

A completely wasted effort as I was in no shape to summon and control a demon. I would likely to fail to summon one or my familiar would turn against me after appearing. The priests must have realized that too since they stopped me immediately, grabbed my hand and together with Yukio pushed me into the corner setting up a barrier to protect us.

The wisest thing would be to run, but the ghouls barricaded the entrances with their rotting bodies. Yeah, we could try to fight through them but then we would get caught by the demon.

"You are trapped," he observed the obvious with a winning grin and punched hard against the barrier.

It hold. For now. Yet it was clearer than day that we were already dead. It was just a matter of time. The demon must have thought so as well since he wasn't exactly eager to break through to get us. But there was one thing he had no idea of.

 _Hurry up, old man. We need you now._ I prayed for father Fujimoto to come back as soon as possible. The situation was dire and we needed a paladin. Despite growing up in the monastery I wasn't really a believer. Yet this one time I had the feeling that the big man up there had heard me.

The chanting that echoed throughout the damaged building made a smile appear on my lips. It was the same for everyone else. The demons started to shriek as a grenade of holy water exploded filling the room with gas poisonous to the evil. I swore I heard as something hard hit the white-haired demon who crashed to the ground and after that the mist dissolved to reveal my father's smiling face.

"And what do we have here? I leave the house for a couple of hours and meanwhile the kids throw up a party with demons and demolish the house!"

I was so glad to see him that I didn't really have an energy to laugh like the others did. The barrier was lifted and suddenly I found my father's hand on my head stroking my hair.

"You did well," he smiled at me and then repeated the gesture with Yukio, trying to calm him down.

Those three words were powerful enough to make me forget about all those demons and let the exhaustion to take a hold of me. But even though I felt like passing out and wished for some rest and sleep, I knew that it was out of question. I slapped my cheeks to wake myself up and looked around to examine the situation. The old man was really something. What the hell did he make those holy water grenades of? It was certainly not a holy water. The ghouls were all gone and the humanoid demon was lying on the ground in pain. I could never pull off something like that.

 _The old man is amazing._

I couldn't admire his exorcist work for long. Suddenly he pushed something cold into my hand. It took me a while to realize that it was a key.

"Go get Kurikara," those words and his serious look was all it took for me to snap out of my useless thoughts.

I looked around to see whether there was somewhere on the ground my sword, yet I couldn't see it anywhere. So I just took the key slipped into the secret room under the altar.

I found myself standing in the middle of darkness. There was no time to try to lit a lamp so I just raised my hand and searched for the cabinet. Once I found it and was able to locate the keyhole I opened it touching what I supposed to be a cursed sword. I hesitated before pulling it out, carefully as if it was made of glass. In the dim light coming from the entrance I inspected it. The weapon always made me uneasy and the scorched talisman only added to my nervousness. It didn't seem good. And that feeling only worsened after the miasma started to pour from above once more.

 _The son of a bitch is back on his feet_ , I growled and hurried back upstairs.

The demon was howling like mad, his appearance reminding more a goat-like monster than Shiratori. The coal tar was storming around the place again and made it hard to see.

"Old man? Yukio?" I smacked one of that little demons away and ran toward the silhouettes of the priests and my brother.

"I have it!" I announced giving the sword to my father.

"No," he shook his head.

"I know you can take a good care of it," he gave me a smile and then pushed me away.

"Now run."

That took by my surprise. He hadn't pushed me away from the fight like this for ages. I stayed speechless for about half a minute before I noticed what he was holding in his hand.

"That's my sword!"

I was happy that father found it but when I reached to grab it he moved it out of my reach.

"Dad?" I gave him a questioning look, but he payed me no mind.

"Take Yukio and run. This is Astaroth. The King of Rot. There is nothing you can do. You are not strong enough. Even I am not."

Not sooner have I noticed the exhaustion in his face and the little scratches covered his hands then after he said that. _He must have been fighting up until now too_ , I realized watching in horror as he was placing his other hand on the sword ready to draw it.

"No! No, don't do it!" I screamed as the others dragged me away.

I knew what kind of sword it was. I never used it before but I knew what the price for using it's power was. I was willing to pay it if the situation was dreadful. But I could not watch someone else to do so, especially not my father.

"I will fight! Give it back!" I screamed but was too exhausted to resist the priests who were trying to push me outside.

"Rin, Yukio," the voice of the old man was soft and cut deeper than any sword possibly could.

"I'm so proud of both of you," he showed us his back and unsheathed the sword.

My eyes had problem to follow what had happened afterward. The blade of the sword clashed with the demon's long claws, dancing around him in inhuman speed. The whirl of coal tar formed around them and I lost tthe sight of them. I found myself on the street gasping for breath and trembling miserably. I didn't notice it at first, but Yukio was pretty much in the same shape. He was lost in what was happening and just let the others to drag him wherever they wanted.

"I...I have to go back," I whispered but my legs refused to listen.

I was tired. More than that. I had no idea how I was able to move during the last hour.

"We need to go."

I had no idea who exactly spoke to me, but I refused to move.

"No!"

It was Yukio who was able to voice my thoughts. After overcoming the first or maybe the second or the third wave of shock he tried to push everyone aside and run back to where we came from, but was not strong enough to have it his way.

"What is going on? Why should we run? Father is still inside! We have to help him!" he shouted and for a moment I thought that the blue flames would burst around him once more but nothing happened.

"I'm sorry. But we can't help him now," Izumi almost shouted those words at him being as frustrated as we had been.

But Yukio didn't seem to be giving up. He opened his mouth once more but said nothing in the end. His eyes widened and he stopped the struggle.

"Father!" his eyes flashed with joy and made me to turn back.

The old man was staggering toward us, his clothes were torn and his hands bloodied but he seemed to be alright. He stopped and tilted his head giving us all an unnerving glare powerful enough to send chills down my spine. He raised his hand with sword in it looking as if he was readying himself to charge at us and then his hand shivered and he twisted the blade burying into his stomach.

My brother gave out a desperate scream as he wrenched himself free from Izumi's grip and run toward our father, catching himself before he could hit the ground.

I pushed myself over the limits once more and walked over to them, my mind completely blank. I watched silently listening to my brother's sobs as the man who raised me chocked on his own blood.

 _The price for the power of the sword_ , I thought as tears ran down my cheeks. A _human life._

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the wait :D  
**

 **To be honest I didn't think I would write anything for another month or so but... then I opened mail and saw a new review was posted. It said** "Please update !" (ForIHaveTakenOverTheWorld)

 **And then my conscience glared at me angrily, slapped me in the face and kicked my lazy ass to write something.  
**

 **So thank you dear** ForIHaveTakenOverTheWorld **for giving me that final slap** **and of course thank all of you for your reviews and support even though I am so terrible at updating! To be honest I wouldn't be able to bring myself to write anything if it hadn't been for you.**

 **I hope I won't disappoint you with what's going to come next. I guess you all want to see Rin teaching the exorcist class and Yukio learning to be an exorcist, but... I don't want to copy the original story. I think I have already mentioned it but it wouldn't be really much of a fun to tell you the story you all know very well even if the roles are switched. There are so many possibilities in what kind of path they might have taken being the circumstances just a tiny bit different and I want to explore one of them.**

 **You might have noticed that Yukio didn't unleashed his demonic powers like Rin did in the anime/manga hence he is still human and Rin has a pretty dangerous sword of his own sooo...yeah! there is so much I can do that I just don't want to follow the script! I hope you would like the story even though it won't be exactly what you wish to read.**

 **Oh, and the next chapter (no idea when I'm gonna write that but you are welcome to try to make me do it as soon as possible :* ) and the others to come will be written from Yukio's POV (Rin doesn't need to be a center of attention every time right?).**

 **Well, until next time ^^**


	5. A good person

**Hey guys! It's me!**

 **I bet you didn't expect I would update this soon :D Well...I didn't either! But I was thinking which way to take this and as soon as I decided I just had to write it down. I hope you would like it.**

 **Before you get to the reading I just want to thank you for more than 2000 views! Also 45 people are following this story and 42 have favorited it. I never expected something like that when I started writing this! Thank you so much! It's so great knowing that people actually enjoy what I write ^^**

 **This chapter is slightly longer than the others were, but not really much happens. Well...of course something will happen but...you know what? Just read it! :D  
**

 **I'm going to repeat this again so there won't be a misunderstanding. This one is written from Yukio's POV!**

 **Enjoy ^^**

* * *

 **A good person**

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably turning my head toward the door every time the bell rang announcing that someone entered the shop.

"Relax, that's not her," my brother scowled annoyed by my nervousness.

His eyes were following a bunch of girls in front of jewelry shop without any kind of interest, his head was leaning on his hand meanwhile he was taking little sips from his coke through a straw.

"Did one of them pique your interest?"

"Um, um."

And that was the end of our conversation. Not anything surprising though. Rin kind of pulled up the defenses after father's death. He only talked when he had to. Not that I was any different. It was just too much. But after few days I found our current situation uncomfortable.

I wanted to lean on my brother so he could support me, but he wouldn't even look me in the eyes. I knew what was going on. He was blaming himself. I still had no idea why father had to kill himself but Rin seemed to know. I didn't ask. I knew he would just probably pretend that he didn't hear me. I knew my brother well, so I just figured that he would get over it in his own pace. But it seemed to take him forever.

I took a sip from my orange juice and then sighed. It had already been a week since father's death. And the time to move from monastery to the dorms was almost here. After the funeral my brother made himself clear that he is against me going to high school. But Maruta calmed him down pointing out that it should be alright.

They told me what kind of school I was going to but left the decision for me to make. And I decided. I needed some of that lost normalcy in my life. And in the end the priests and my brother agreed that it was the right place for me to hide. No demon should attack me there. And I was still human, so I shouldn't be worried about the exorcists.

Yet my brother was not content at all. He refused to leave my side and followed me even to the bathroom! And with the way he was distancing himself from me not talking to me at all he made the whole situation super uncomfortable!

"Tell me again, what kind of person is she?" I asked him again trying to break the awkward silence.

Rin sighed and turned his head toward me.

"She is an annoying wicked witch with ninja training. She has big boobs, her clothes are practically non-existent and she is constantly drunk."

The description of the person we were about to meet wasn't really nice.

"Are you sure she will be willing to help us?"

My brother just shrugged and looked out of a window again to find out that the bunch of girls had disappeared.

"Who knows? She is an exorcist so she just might try to kill us both after learning about you. Pray that she won't. I won't be able to watch over you when you are in that stupid school. And she is an expert when it comes to demonic swords so we would really use her help."

Of course I understood that. There was no way that Rin would let me go to that school without protection and since he wasn't student he couldn't just follow me on the school grounds. And it would be the best if the one watching over me was an exorcist. But for some reason none of the priests could do that.

"You know, at first I thought that you were the exorcist too."

I eyed my brother observing his reaction. From what I understood Rin wasn't the exorcist. But it was obvious that he had some sort of training. I just wondered what could have made him stop not climbing higher.

"I wanted to become one. But I didn't pass the exams," he confessed not looking me in the eye.

"Wrong!"

An unknown voice startled me and I looked up to see the person who owned it. My eyes met the pink ones of a young woman with long red hair with yellow ends. She was dressed rather poorly. Shorts and small very revealing bikini top was definitelly not a decent piece of clothing. What drew my attention was a marking on her chest and abdomen, yet I shifted my gaze away as soon as possible when I realized she was observing me too with devilish smile.

"You like what you see kid?" she purred obviously thinking that I was staring at her breasts.

"Don't tease him!" Rin growled frowning at her.

"You could dress a little less like a slut."

The woman fired him a dangerous glare and I became a witness of something I thought I would never see. He flinched!

"Yukio, this is Shura Kirigakure. Shura, my younger twin Yukio," Rin introduced us not really looking happy about us meeting.

"Nice to meet ya!" Shura giggled and took a seat.

"So, what the hell was the meaning of that?" Rin raised an eyebrow looking at her.

"Eh, of what?"

"That little comment you made."

"Oh, that?" she snickered at my brother.

"I know you failed your exams on purpose."

"Nonsense," Rin dismissed the idea and I had to swallow the urge to ask her why she thought so.

Shura didn't seem to want argue with Nii-san, so she just mumbled something and asked:

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

I saw my brother tense and to be honest my stomach grumbled from nervousness as well. This woman didn't seem as someone who would be willing to help us. And seeing her face after nii-san finished explaining everything abot me and abut what happened I was probably right.

"Well," she crossed her hands on her chest and glared at us with distaste.

"Why the hell are you telling me this? As an exorcist the first thing I should do now is report you to the higher-ups in Vatican."

Well, I couldn't blame her. I was disgusting creature even to myself. Yet I really hoped that we would make a new ally. I shot a panicked gaze toward my brother but he just smiled waving all of my worries away.

"We have something to show you," he continued pretending he didn't hear what the woman said.

"You are an expert when it comes to demonic swords. And we have two really rare swords to show you. I hoped you could tell us something about them."

He put the bag with both of our swords on the table and pushed it toward her. The tactics seemed to work. Shura's eyes lit with curiosity and she opened the bag.

"Don't unsheathe it though," Rin warned her before she could do something like that.

"Which one?" she asked pulling one of them out without looking at us.

"Both of them."

She frowned and pulled out Rin's shirasaya. She scanned the sword with her eyes and then sighted.

"What the hell do you think I can tell you? There is nothing for me to say if I can't get a glance on the blade."

"It is called Muramasa," nii-san murmured in response probably expecting her answer.

Shura's eyes suddenly widened and she threw the sword on the table moving her chair away from it.

"Where did you get that thing from?!" she eyed my brother who seemed to be shocked by her actions.

"It was a gift," he answered simply.

"The one who gave it to you must have really hated you," she concluded.

"Uhm, sorry," I interrupted them interested in the sword a little bit more now.

"That means that that swordsmith made it, right? Sengo Muramasa I mean."

The readhead grinned at me obviously forgetting about what I was.

"You are the clever one. Yes, it was forged by Muramasa. Are you familiar with the legend?"

"A little bit, I guess," I admitted.

"What the hell?" I heard my brother's confused mumbling and had to snicker.

Up until now he was giving off the expression that he knew everything and that everything was under his control. But as was expected of him, he knew nothing even when it came to his own sword. Not that I knew about it much either, but at least I was familiar with the name Sengo Muramasa.

"Muramasa is the name of a swordsmith," Shura started to explaining, apparently more to my confused brother than to myself.

"He was one of the greatest swordsmiths shadowed only by Masamune. The swords they made were of the finest quality, but they differed dramatically. It is said that while forging the sword the swordsmith pours his soul into it. Those made by Masamune were considered to be holy. But Muramasa on the other hand... He was a madman. His swords craved for blood and after unsheathing they possessed their wielder and turned him into a murderer. After they were draw out of the scabbard the only way how to soothe the sword was to kill someone. But the bloodlust of the sword would usually increase with every life it took. It would only stop after the death of its wielder. No one really knows how he made those swords but I guess he was forcing demons to possess them in order to make them more powerful. And even though they were quite popular, in the end the swords were declared to be cursed. They were banned and destroyed. But some of them were hidden. I had really hoped that I would never see one of them. Do you happen to know the name of this one?"

Her story gave me a goosebumps and I automatically moved as far away from the sword as possible.

"I thought Muramasa was the name," my brother admitted not really fazed by what the woman said.

"I see. You are as ignorant as always," she laughed and pulled out of the bag the other sword.

"Wait! This one I've seen before. Is this Kurikara?"

My brother nodded and watched her inspecting it.

"Yukio's powers are sealed in it," he informed her.

"I see," she slightly touched the scorched talisman. "But the seal is half-torn."

"Can you somehow repair it?" I asked with hope but was met only with the shake of her head.

"I don't think so. Yet it should be alright. Your powers might leak through but as long as you don't draw the sword, the seal will hold," she ensured me giving us the sword back.

"I knew it," my brother laughed and we both looked at him questioningly.

"You knew what?" the woman asked.

"That you would help us. You are a good person after all!" he grinned at her.

She stared at him losing her speech for a moment. Then she snapped.

"I don't remember saying anything about helping you. In fact, I am gonna report you."

She stood up and walked toward the door. But on the halfway she stopped and looked at me.

"One last thing, though, Four-eyes. From what I had seen it would be the best if you took that Muramasa sword and drove it into your stomach. That way you can spare yourself and your brother some suffering."

She left us both speechless and in my case also depressed. We didn't talk much after that. We went home in silence and we also ate the dinner in that sour mood. My brother didn't say anything even as we went to bed. He seemed to be deep in thoughts. That used to be really dangerous sometimes.

I had no idea what we were supposed to do now that Shura made it clear that she won't support us. I rolled in my bed unable to sleep until I stood up and walked to the window. I watched the coal tar floating in the moonless night and then my gaze traveled toward the bag with our swords.

I opened it and took both of them out. I inspected them both thinking about what Shura told me.

"You are not thinking about that stupidity that that witch told you, are you?"

I turned my head to see that my brother wasn't sleeping but watching me with a stern look.

"I was just wondering," I gulped unsure about what to say.

"Isn't it selfish of me? Going to high school as if nothing happened. Do I even deserve an ordinary life? Why am I even alive?" I decided to tell him the truth after all.

I told him about my real feeling, how unsure I was about what I should do. And as expected, my brother just laughed my worries away.

"Stupid. You are thinking too much. The best you can do is go back to your ordinary life. It is the life the old man wanted for you after all. Then honor his memory by living it, not throwing it away. So don't you even think about killing yourself and making it easier for me because you know what? It wouldn't be! I'm your older brother and I'll protect you. Always. That's the only thing I'm good for anyway. Well, beside cooking."

 _I knew it_ , I thought as my throat clenched. _I'm no match for nii-san._

"What about Shura-san? Is she really going to report us?" I asked a little bit of a fear still in my voice.

"Just call her Shura. And no, I don't think she will do that. You know, she was raised by the old man too. She is a good person."

I smiled at my brother relieved by his words, put away those swords and climbed into bed trying to forget it all. The demons, the exorcist, everything. Even that thing about Shura. What neither of us realized was that forgetting wasn't an option anymore. Neither was an ordinary life.

The next day I was finally able to get rid of my brother for a couple of hours. Since there had been no demon's attacks since that night I managed to persuade him to go on another job interview. Yet I had to promise him not to leave the monastery without someone to protect me. I gladly did that.

I really loved my brother but the last time we were this close for so long was when we were in kindergarten. We were brothers after all. Spending this much time together would only lead to killing each other. We had to make some alone time every now and then. And right now I desperately needed to be alone. I just had to process everything in silence. Well, in another kind of silence than that awkward one with my brother lately.

I sat myself on the stairs to monastery and watched the coal tar. That became one of my favourite activities lately. I observed the way they were moving and the places or people they were gathering around. I became quite curious about demons, but it wasn't like anyone would teach me. At least my brother wasn't willing to teach me what he knew. And he must have persuaded the priests not to do it too.

"So you didn't kill yourself. Is that because you are a scaredy-cat?"

I had no idea where she came from but suddenly Shura Kirigakure was standing right in front of me.

"I'm not a scaredy-cat!" I glared at her trying to look a little less terrified than I actually was.

She said she would report us after all. Nii-san believed that she wouldn't but I just had to search the surrounding with my eyes for another exorcists. I found none.

"Well, the prove it!" she challenged me.

"Follow me," she ordered and not waiting for my reaction walked away down the street.

I had very little time to make my decision. I chose to follow her after all. If she could be trusted like nii-san believed then it should be alright. And if not then at least he wasn't there to get into trouble for me.

We walked not speaking a word all way to the nearby park. It was completely empty, which only made me more nervous.

"What do you choose?" the woman asked turning around to face me.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

She snorted and then began chanting the words I didn't know or understand. The mark on her chest glowed and she pulled a weird purple sword out of it.

"Your brother is a foolish dreamer. He always believed in happily ever after. But there is no such thing for you. You might try living a normal life, but your origin, that Satan's blood, that will never let you have it. Sooner or later everything around you will lay in ashes. Demons, exorcists or your own power, it doesn't matter. If you turn a blind eye to who you really are you will just end up destroying everything and everyone you love. Shiro has already died. Your brother will be next. So I'm asking you. What do you choose?"

After those words she charged at me. I managed to dodge merely a second before she was able to slash my head into two.

"Will you use your brother as a shield? Will you let him bear your burden?"

That woman was crazy! She was attacking me missing my head or throat by not more than few inches. To be honest I had no idea how I was able to dodge all of her attacks. But somehow I did. I wished for my blue flames to manifest themselves but they just wouldn't appear. Maybe because I didn't want to hurt her which I was sure the flames would.

"Or will you be a man and do something about this?"

She continued with those stupid questions which I really had no time thinking about. I was too occupied by running away from her.

"Do something like what?! Is there a cure for being born a demon?!" I screamed in desperation.

Following her was a bad idea after all. I should have listened to my brother. And I shouldn't have trusted her.

"Do something different than trembling in fear and letting the others suffer for you."

Shura's voice was steady and cold and now I understood that she was mad. _She was raised by father_. I had to admit that I understood how she must have felt.

"Either fight or if you are too much of a coward to end it yourself, let me do it for you and die!"

Even though her weapon didn't cut me, her words did. I felt that despair from the other day taking a hold of me again. But then the last night conversation with my brother resonated in my mind.

"I'm not going to die!" I found myself screaming suddenly.

"I'm not going to trouble my brother anymore. So I will fight you!" I decided and stopped running.

A bad idea by any standards. I had no weapon and even if I did she was too skillful for me to handle. I was only able to watch as she was approaching and close my eyes in anticipation of a deadly blow.

"You pass!" she laughed suddenly and I carefully opened my eyes.

"That face you made! Priceless," she was laughing really hard while she made her sword disappear.

"You want to say, you didn't mean to hurt me at all?" I blinked in confusion.

"Oh, no. I was thinking about cutting your hands or feet off and taking you to Vatican. But seeing you challenge me with your bare hands was just too hilarious. So I thought that it would be a shame if you were crippled and sentenced to death."

At that time I honestly didn't know what to make out of that woman anymore. So I just fell to the ground relieved that I was allowed to keep my hands and feet.

"Listen well, Four-eyes. I didn't report you. And I won't. But I won't be your nanny either. But I can teach you. How to fight and how not to trouble your brother anymore. So, are you interested?"

I gasped in disbelief before the tears of gratitude rolled down my cheeks. _Nii-san was right. She is a good person._


	6. Impossible

**Impossible**

"That woman," I growled and put my phone into my pocket.

Shura wasn't a nice person at all! Even though she promised to teach and train me the only thing she did was giving me few books about demons the first day of school and then she just disappeared! A whole month passed after that and not even once did I manage to reach her.

When I told my brother about her absence he went nuts. It took a few hours to calm him down and convince him that I didn't need a bodyguard. I had to wonder how convincing I had been when I started to notice a pair of ravens watching my steps every day. At first I though that I was just being paranoid but now I'm pretty sure that the birds are my brother's familiars. I decided to ignore them. For now.

I opened the door to my room and was surprised to be greeted by my roommate who would have usually had cram school at this time of day. Renzo Shima was a strange boy and I didn't like him since the first time I saw him. The pink-haired boy was noisy, lazy, messy and perverted, definitely not the one I would choose as my roommate. Yet I couldn't help it but notice that he shared few similarities with my brother, which made cohabitating with him a tiny bit more bearable.

In spite what I thought about him I had considered myself lucky after finding out what kind of personality my roommate had. Sharing the room with someone as easygoing as him I had only a small fear in my heart about him finding my exorcist books. Even if he was to find them I was sure that I could talk myself out of it and he would just shrug his shoulders and forget about it. But he managed to surprise me.

It was the second week of school when I found out exorcist books thrown on the floor of our room. At first, I panicked. But then it turned out that those were not my books, but Shima's. Both of us were pretty surprised, Shima about me knowing of demons and I about learning that my roommate is studying to become an exorcist. The revelation was quite benefiting from my side, actually.

"Hey, roomie! Wanna copy Bon's notes with me?" he waved at me from his desk pointing at his classmate's notebook.

"That would be great," I nodded setting my bag on my bed.

Shima often copied notes of this Bon person and fortunately, didn't mind sharing them with me together with his knowledge from exorcist class. As I found out, Shima was not really good in studying, but he knew a lot of interesting stuff from his brothers and his friend's notes were just amazing-extensive and easy to read and learn from.

I didn't really know who Bon was but I had suspected him to be the deliquent-looking guy with short brown hair with yellow streak who was in the same class as me. Either that one or the small bald one with glasses, who I saw hanging out with Shima. Either way I didn't really care. I didn't want to meet any of them, especially not since they were studying exorcism. I admit being scared of them. What might they do after figuring out what I am?

I pulled out books from my bag, placed them on my desk and sat down burying myself in the work.

"Say," Shima's voice interrupted my train of thoughts and I looked up from my books to look at the pink-haired boy, "why aren't you attending exorcist cram school? Seems that you are serious about studying exorcism."

I was sure that my eye twitched but I hoped that Shima didn't notice it behind my glasses.

"I told you, it's because of my brother. He doesn't want me to study it. He tends to be overprotective," I explained and returned my attention to my work before being interrupted again.

"Is your brother an exorcist?"

"No," I shook my head, "he isn't. He studied to become one but..."

"But?" Shima raised his eyebrow after I fell silent.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Well, he didn't pass the exam, but it's strange. I mean... Rin is strong, he has always been. I don't know how strong are other exorcists but I think that nii-san is a great fighter. Well, yes, he is a moron and terrible at studying but I thought for sure that he was the exorcist. One acquaintance of his told me that she suspected him to fail the exam on purpose, but I didn't have the chance to question her further," I sighed.

"Well, maybe he didn't handle the pressure and that led to him failing the exam. Might have been on purpose but also subconsciously," my roommate speculated.

I just shrugged and turned my attention away from him. I had already speculated about it but reached no conclusion at all. Shima understood that I was not in mood to talk about it and returned to his own work, which he gave up after a few seconds and placed his head on his desk.

After about half an hour my back started to ache I found myself in need to stand up and stretch. Nothing surprising considering how much as a student I got to sit the whole day long. My gaze traveled to Shima who was soundly asleep atop his math homework.

Deciding not to wake him up I walked over to my dresser and pulled out my track suit. I changed and headed out. Cool air engulfed me and I took a deep breath, trying to freshen myself and push away the sleepiness. The sun was already setting down and the temperature was lowering with it.

Turning my back to the sun and facing the starting darkness I started jogging. It became a habit of mine. I never really felt the need to exercise and always focused more on studying, but when I started studying exorcism I modified my daily regimen as well, which now included jogging and body building.

I found it unbelievable how fast the time passed when I had something to do, exercise or study. Soon it was completely dark and I found myself on a bench under a lamp. I sat there not really willing to go back to running neither returning to my homework and sleeping roommate so I stayed there for quite a long time while disturbing thoughts invaded my mind.

I started to be rather paranoid. Nii-san always said that I worried too much and lately I just could feel my heart clutching from my concerns. My life returned to its ordinary tracks but my mind didn't. I saw danger in every corner.

 _You might try living a normal life, but your origin, that Satan's blood, that will never let you have it. Sooner or later everything around you will lay in ashes._

I didn't need Shura to remind me of it, I still remembered her words. And strangely, I caught myself wishing for something to happen, wishing that something would come and end this ordinary life of mine sooner than later. I found it unbearable to just wait for a catastrophe to happen.

"It's getting late. Return to your dorm."

I jumped to my feet startled by the shrieky voice and turned my head violently in an attempt to find whoever dared to disturb me. I saw no one.

"Who was it? Show yourself!" I spoke with confidence I did not have, automatically thinking of the worst possible outcome- a demon.

"I'm here, blind toddler," I heard the voice scowled.

I turned my gaze toward the voice and rested my eyes on the perpetrator. I was right, I realized. It actually was a demon, yet not the kind I should be afraid of.

I locked my eyes with the beady ones of a raven as big as a dog sitting on the branch of a nearby tree. I knew that bird, it was one of those that were following me lately. It shrieked, waved its wings and landed on the bench I was sitting on a mere minute ago.

"You are my brother's familiar," I spoke.

It was not a question, yet the bird still answered by a movement which was without a doubt a nod of his head.

"My name is Huginn, the Thought of Odin. As of now, I serve your brother," the raven introduced itself.

"My name's Yu-"

"Yukio. I know. I know everything about you," Huginn scanned me with its beady eyes and a chill passed up my spine.

The raven was unnerving. Its eyes were cunning and held a great wisdom, that much I could tell. It was not a creature I would want to anger, not with its ominous size, strong dark wings, claws as sharp as razors and big hard beak suitable enough for cracking a human's skull.

After a while it broke off the complete silence.

"Well, we exchanged our greetings, now returned to your dorm as I told you. It is long after dinner, your brother will worry if I do not return."

It might have been for his threatening appearance or for its cunning gaze, pride and wisdom radiating from the bird but I was not willing to risk opposing its orders. Even thought Huginn might have not meant those words as orders, they surely sounded that.

I wished the demon good night and returned to the dorm and my room as per instructions. Once there I found out Shima changed the uncomfortable desk for his own bed, not bothering about changing into his pajamas.

"Are you awake?" I asked with silence confirming me he was indeed asleep.

I returned to my desk, finished my homework and grabbed the notes from exorcist cram school ready to copy them. When I finally ended my self-study it was long after midnight. I rubbed my eyes for they were already dry and yawned feeling how heavy my eyelids were.

I took a sniff of my tracking suit just to wrinkle my nose, noting with resentment that the shower would not wait until the morning. So I grabbed my pajamas and bathroom stuff and headed to the showers.

To my dismay, I found out that there was no more hot water running, so I had to make do with the cold one. After the shower I was left revived, which only upset me, since I couldn't fall asleep. I growled and slipped out from underneath a duvet, switched on the lamp on my desk and opened my book of Demonology.

"Hey, roomie, wake up!"

I groaned and opened my eyes shutting them in the next second because of the bright light. I had no idea when I fell asleep but there was one thing I was sure of- it was not in my bed. And I didn't doubt that my body would remind me that later. I could feel it sore even in that very moment.

"What time is it?" I asked while carefully lifting my head off the table and rubbing my eyes trying to get them used to the light.

"7:30," the boy replied grinning at me.

He was already dressed and ready to go. I frowned. I always woke up a good hour before he did. To wake up this late was unthinkable for me.

"Sorry, I would have woken you sooner, but you looked like you needed a few extra minutes," he apologised, still smiling.

"That's OK, thank you for waking me up. I would have probably overslept if not for you. Didn't my alarm ring?" I shot a glance at it only to find it broken lying on the floor.

"Eh, well," Shima scratched the back of his neck nervously, "it did ring. And it was annoying so I... I think I might have thrown my shoe at it," he confessed.

I sighed and decided to let it be. "That's fine. You don't have to wait for me, go ahead," I waved the thing with the alarm off and sent him on his way to school, which he thankfully didn't protest to, trying to pretend to be considerate and waiting for me.

I dressed quickly and left the room. I skipped dinner the other day and the painful realization, that I had no time to eat breakfast, squeezed my stomach. Back home I never left the monastery hungry, my brother took care of that.

I steeled myself and kept my focus on listening to my teachers during classes and rereading my notes during breaks. Soon I forgot all about my hunger and even my surrounding, not moving from my seat even for a while. That was until someone called out to me.

"Okumura! There is someone who wants to see you."

I looked up at my classmate who called out to me and then my gaze traveled toward the door where it stopped and locked on a very familiar face that had nothing to do in the school building nor its vicinity.

I jumped to my feet and ran to the door where I grabbed the hand of my grinning twin and dragged him through the halls into an empty classroom.

"Nii-san, what the hell are you doing here?" I shouted at my brother as soon as the door closed behind us.

"You don't have to be so overjoyed to see your favorite and only brother," he grinned again without the care in the world it would seem.

"Actually, I believe there are eight Demon Kings who are Satan's kids, so in that case I have eight other brothers," I blabbed without thinking, fixing my glasses.

The expression on my brother's face made me wish that I wouldn't have done it. There was hurt and sadness written in his eyes, yet he said nothing, just turned his gaze away from me. I didn't know what to say to him. It wasn't like I made a peace with my satanic father and a demonic half, but I knew I just couldn't pretend like it didn't exist. Rin on the other hand made everything that was humanly possible to deny the fact. Whether it was for my or his own sake I could not tell.

"Nii-san," I cleared my throat pretending that the conversation up until down didn't happen and asked again, "what are you doing in my school? How did you get here?"

"That is an interesting story," the smile immediately returned to my brother's face, "I was going to surprise you this morning during breakfast, but you skipped it. That is not good for your health, breakfast is the most important meal of the-"

"Nii-san!" I pouted.

Honestly, my brother was a big mouth with a sense for drama, which was annoying when one wanted a quick and brief answer.

"I got a job!" he announced with a big smile leaving me dumbfounded.

"Excuse me?" I gave him a skeptic look. "And for how long do you intent to keep it when you are talking to me now? Five more minutes at least?"

Maybe I should have been happier that my brother got a job but that was the thing- he tended to get a job and get fired on the very same day. Unless he was to keep the job at least a week I saw no reason to celebrate.

"What a cruel younger brother," Rin scowled but chuckled right after.

"My new job is in your dorm's kitchen. Now I get to take care of your meals again!" he said happily.

To tell the truth, I was overjoyed to hear that my brother would be so close to me again, that I would get to see him in mornings and evenings as well. But the feeling was bittersweet. I could not suppress the thoughts that the only reason for my brother to apply for a job like that one was so he could be my bodyguard again, that he was thinking about me as about someone who still cries and sniffles and has to hide behind his big brother's back. Of course, I was aware of the fact that as I was now I had no chance against anyone who would try to hurt me, but a little bit of trust from Rin's side wouldn't be that bad.

My joy must have shown itself on my face since my brother's expression changed into very pleased one. He threw one hand over my shoulders and ruffled my hair with the other one.

"How did you even managed to get a job here?" I wondered with a slight smile on my lips.

"Believe it or not, I have Shura to thank for that," he shrugged.

"Wait a moment. You were with Shura?" I raised my eyebrow, surprised that she had already contacted my brother. I had a feeling like I was not to see her ever again.

"No, she just send me a text. She wrote that she would meet us sometime this week, so be ready," he patted my back and took a leave, since the bell announcing the next class interrupted our conversation.

The rest of the day passed at normal pace with the exception of my brother accompanying me at the table in the dorm's dining room, even though he could stop by to talk to me only for a few seconds. It raised my spirit greatly since I used to dine alone ever since moving there. And I was delighted to be able eat my brother's cooking again.

Shura stormed the dorm the very next evening and pulled me in the dorm's kitchen where the three of us could talk alone and undisturbed. I and Shura sat down with cups of tea while watching my brother washing the dishes from dinner.

"Now, explain. Where the hell have you been?" Rin barked at the exorcist not sparing her a glance.

"Listen, you moron, unlike you two happy-go-lucky brats I actually am an exorcist and an adult and have some duties," she hissed at him and then glared at her cup. She wanted beer, not tea, but good luck finding beer in the building full of teenagers. Well, I didn't doubt she would be able to find some cans, but let's pretend that all teens are angels.

"I was in Vatican," she continued. "You will not be happy about what I have to tell you."

My brother paused and then shot a worried look toward me, getting anxious about tone of Shura's voice. I did my best to pretend I didn't notice him and turned curiously toward Shura.

"It was given that death of a paladin would awake commotion. But, unfortunately for us, it also raised some unwanted questions," she said playing with a spoon in her cup.

"Continue," Rin sighed, left the dishes and joined as at the table.

"First of all, the way Shiro died. Rin, they know. They figured out most of the demon's attack, they even know that Astaroth is behind it. And they know that the cause of Shiro's death was a stab wound caused by sword. Of course, they are confused as to why reason would the King of rot have for attacking the paladin, but the important thing is the conclusion they came to about Shiro's death. And that is that it was not caused by a demon."

I saw my brother clenching his hand into fists until his knuckles were white. I put my hand on his arm in attempt to calm him down, but it had zero effect. He just focused on Shura's every word.

"Are they suspecting anything about Yukio?" he asked frowning.

"Fortunately, nothing of the kind what really happen. But your name came up," she answered calmly.

Rin's eyebrows shot up. "Mine?"

The exorcist nodded. "One of the bastards mentioned you, speculating about how you are trained with sword and then... well, stupid old powerful men really love to turn anyone into a thread and murderer when they do not know what else to do."

"Wait, Shura. Are you saying that they are suspecting Nii-san of killing father?" I asked in horror.

"Relax, kid," she smirked. "It just popped up as a part of discussion, it's not like they are gonna confront and blame him. But," she placed her firm look on my brother, "the thing is that they are suspicious of you. The fact that you are trained in exorcism and are not part of the Order is a problem. Especially when your failure at your exams is just so unbelievable! A kid who was capable enough that paladin himself made him to attend exorcist cram school at the age of thirteen and was training him even before that in swordsmanship, the one who was regarded as a prodigy tamer and he failed so miserably? Not only that, but you never even tried to retake the exam! Many began wondering as to what your agenda might have been."

"Shura, you know that I only wanted-" Rin began but was cut off by the woman.

"-only wanted to get strong enough to protect Yukio. I get it. You only care about Yukio and I agree with you. Why becoming an exorcist and risk your life for the sake of others when you don't care about them?"

By this point I really didn't like the conversation. Was this the reason why nii-san didn't become an exorcist? Simply because he didn't care about anyone but me? No, I wouldn't want him to risk his life for some strangers but it just sounded so harsh and selfish I couldn't believe that it was Rin we were talking about. He had always a kind heart. I had always idolized him as a hero who would gladly help anyone but who, sadly, no one understood to or cared to understand to.

"Well, gentlemen, let's discuss the second problem. The name of that one is Mephisto," the woman continued.

I watched my brother's eyes widen before he cursed and gritted his teeth. I, on the other hand, had no idea who Shura was talking about and I made sure to voice it.

"Mephisto is the principal of this place," the redhead explained briefly.

"Like it or not, he was the one who made your job arrangements," she addressed to my brother.

"I thought that the principal's name is Johann Faust V," I mumbled, frowning.

"Yeah, he is using that name when dealing with the public, but among the exorcist he is known as Mephisto Pheles. Oh, and he is a demon," Shura explained.

It took me a while to process the last piece of information and when I did, Shura was talking again.

"He knows everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything! Including your real parentage."

It didn't take a genius to figure out how deep in the trouble we were. I could feel the panic rising inside of me, yet there was something wrong. If the principal of the exorcist academy knew, why hadn't he done anything yet?

"How did that clown find out? You didn't tell him, did you?!" Rin growled.

Shura pierced him with her glare. "Of course not! Who do you take me for?! I'm not dumb," she yelled and then calmed herself down. "It seems he knew from the very beginning. He told me that he was there when Shiro decided to take you in. Heck, he even claims that he was the one who sealed Yukio's powers away!"

"Wait then," I spoke with a hopeful voice, "does that mean that he is our ally? I mean, he kept that secret for all those years..."

Both of them gave me a pitiful look and then shook their heads. "Don't you think even for a second that he is an ally of us," the woman warned me. "That bastard only cares about himself. It might be true that he was assisting Shiro in that, but I'm sure he didn't do it just out of goodness of his heart! I bet he has ulterior motives even now. He is not to be trusted."

"That's it," my brother gave the both of us a stern look, "Yukio is not staying in this school. Go pack your things, you are returning home. And it would be for the best if we left the town."

My mouth fell agape but before I had the time to protest, Shura spoke first.

"Hold your horses, Rin! I don't like Mephisto any more than you do, but the simple truth is that, right now, this is the safest place for Yukio in the whole Japan. The school is protected by a barrier to ward off the demons and who would possibly expect a Satan's son to hide himself right under the exorcists' noses? Noone even knows of his existence and his powers are still sealed so he is in no danger whatsoever!"

"Are you crazy? You just told us that that frickin' clown knows everything! All he has to do is say one word and the Order will have my brother executed!"

"He won't do that."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he could have done that years ago! Or a month ago, right after Shiro died, but he chose to remain silent."

"Only so he could manipulate us!"

"Yes, that's true, but it is the best option we have. Here, your brother is safe and we have time and resources to properly train him. I hate that demon, but he won't hurt us anytime soon, so it would be for the best to play by his rules for now."

"Fuck you, Shura! I'm not going to become his puppet! And I'm not leaving Yukio here!"

"Can you two just shut up!" I snapped.

I had enough, I was sick of their bickering. They were talking about me as if I wasn't sitting right next to them. As if my opinion didn't matter.

"Do I not have a saying in this?"

They both looked at me with shock written on their faces before Shura cracked giggling.

"See, Rin? I told you, four-eyes has a very functional brain of his own. You can no longer make decisions based on what you think is best for him. He is his own person, after all."

Rin pressed his lips into thin line and frowned. "Alright. Yukio, what do you want to do?" he spoke calmly.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, thinking. "I want to stay here. I want to remain studying here. And I want to study exorcism," I looked my brother in the eyes, "I want to attend exorcist cram school as well."

He said nothing, just turned his head and looked away. Shura nodded.

"You attending cram school will be for the best. You will not only have me as a teacher but also lot of other trained exorcist. You can learn a lot," she nodded and then shot a glance at my brother.

"You should sign yourself up as well. And retake your meister exams. We will be able to shake off those ridiculous suspicions like that," she advised him.

"Like hell I will!" he snarled and slammed his hand against the wall.

Then he stood up and returned to his work. I and Shura finished off our cups, she left the dorm and I turned to the door to return to my room.

"Yukio," the voice of my brother stopped me at the last second and I turned to face him, surprised by the sadness of his eyes, "if you continue like this, that ordinary life you dream of might be impossible to reach."

I gave him a light smile, "It might have been impossible from the beginning."

* * *

 **Hey guys! Thanks for all your support, I hope you liked the chapter ^^**

 **Fujoshi desu xD : I'm so sorry, as I can see you really wanted Rin to be an exorcist, right? Well, I have reasons (or Rin has one reason) why he doesn't want to be an exorcist. I'm thinking about Yukio confronting him about it the next chapter. But, you are right, he has what it takes to be one (yeah, he is not that smart but he is strong and not a total moron...sometimes). Even Shura acknowledges him. Well, my thoughts are complicated. But who knows what there is in stock for him in the future? Maybe Shura will him kick him into becoming one, you never know ;D**

 **Upper second Rin : As I see it, Yukio is a little bit taller than Rin, that's just it. But Yukio is scrawny. He was never really into the sports so he would be really thin, no muscles. Rin on the other hand HAS to be strong and muscular. He had to train a lot, being a swordsman and all. And right know, of course, Rin knows more about demons and such, but since Yukio is interested in exorcism, he will have no problem in overcoming him when it comes to knowledge.**

 **I guess that's it for now. See ya next chapter ˇˇ**


	7. Kids, meet the cook!

**Hey guys! Gosh, I was supposed to finish this chapter a good month ago, I had time and had a pretty good idea what I wanted to write but...I just somehow got stuck in the middle. I wanted to write so many things but most of them were unimportant and I wanted to get to the real deal...and in the end I wasn't able to do so in this chapter. But I promise you the next one will be worth it! I hope I will be able to get it done in the next two weeks but no promises (you know me, you got used to it).**

 **Fujoshi desu xD : Glad you like it! well, Rin will meddle with the cram school kids, so enjoy ^^**

 **Upper second Rin : To tell you the truth, I originally wanted Yukio to find out in that chapter that he can understand demons and that the seal is weakening. But then I made some research (meaning I read a tiny article at wikipedia) and there was stated that Huginn and the other raven were able to speak and I decided that that would be the case. So yeah, they speak human language. I admit that I didn't give much thought to where Rin is staying. I told myself that he is either commuting to work (I have no idea how far the academy is from the monastery) or he lives in some dorm provided for the employees.**

 **Guest 1 and 2 : The next chapter is here! Well, Rin will certainly try to be :D You will get some of him interacting with the students in this chapter but not much of it. And he is Rin. There is no way he would just stay out of their business ^^**

 **A Quantity of Eggs: I'm glad ^^ Well, see for yourself.**

 **Thank you all for your reviews ^^ Now, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Kids, meet the cook!**

 _"Rin, Yukio, I'm so proud of both of you."_

That morning I woke up with a silent scream on my lips. I sat up, clutched my chest and breathed out heavily, checking the other bed to see whether I woke Shima. The boy slept like a baby. I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart and then decided I did not want to sleep anymore.

I put on my slippers and left the room walking down the stairs into the kitchen, where the staff had already started cooking.

"'Morning, Yukio! You up early," my brother grinned at me, sleepiness in his eyes.

"Good morning to you too," I smiled at him and sat onto the chair in the corner from where I watched my brother cut the vegetables.

The other workers wished me good morning as well and before I could protest a cup of hot tea and a plate of biscuits were placed in front of me. The cooks had already gotten used to my presence and seemed to be pleased with my visit and a little chat during their work.

I had to admit that a pride was swelling in my chest while observing my brother working. He seemed to be doing well, much more than I had expected. I was the first one they served the breakfast to and before the dining room was starting to fill, I grabbed the lunch my brother prepared and we wished each other a good day.

A good day it was, or at least it was not entirely bad. Yet an ordinary school was...quite boring. It was something new to me to find my school and my lessons boring but that was how I honestly felt. When did it start? When did I start to consider every word my normal teacher said so unimportant?

Not that I slacked off, I was as diligent as ever, yet I couldn't wait for the normal school to end. I glanced toward the clock in front of the classroom, summoned my non-existent psychic powers and tried to push the clock hands with my mind. Of course, I failed. Not that my psychic abilities were actually non-existent, but pyrokinesis hardly gives you power to manipulate the time. Besides I had no idea how to use my blue flames in the first place. So I just focused on my classes and patiently waited for them to end.

When they finally did, I didn't hesitate to grab my things and run off the classroom. And I was not the only one. I stopped in an empty hallway in front of the door of the janitor's closet and nodded silently toward Ryuji Suguro, who was right behind me.

The last two weeks this was quite a routine for the both of us. I dived my hand into my pocket, brought out my key and opened the door. We both stepped into the exorcist cram school and started walking toward our classroom in complete silence. There was not really much we could talk about besides school.

„Say," Suguro spoke surprising me, „how are your studies doing? I mean, do you have any troubles with the cram school's classes?"

I looked at him quickly masking my surprised expression. Was he worrying about me? That was something unexpected. Ever since I started attending cram school two weeks ago he would constantly stare daggers at me or ignore me at best.

„I'm fine. I studied by myself before and have to help me now and then," I responded to which Suguro nodded and we resumed our silence.

When we arrived in our classroom there were only three people there. Not that our class was actually big. Together with the two of us there was seven people in total. The ones already present were two girls, Izumo Kamiki and Noriko Paku, and then a strange guy with a puppet I never talked to, Nemu Takara. Paku was the only one who greeted us.

Both Suguro and I walked toward and sit at our desks and we all waited in silence. It was something unusual for normal school, but for the cram school it was completely normal, at least for most of the time. No one really bothered to talk to the others and befriend them unless they already knew each other.

A few moments later the door opened again and Shima together with little bald boy with glasses, Konekomaru Miwa, walked in. Shima smiled at the girls and said his hello and then the two of them came to me and Suguro.

Konekomaru seated himself beside Suguro and Shima went to the desk just behind them where I was sitting. It seemed I somehow became part of the group of those boys, all because of Shima.

On the first day when I introduced myself he almost jumped off his seat and when the teacher told me to sit down, he started waving at me and calling my name. To be perfectly honest, I had no intention to pick a seat beside him. But everyone was staring at him and me that I felt really awkward so I went to sit beside him only to shut him up.

Well, Shima made it impossible for me to leave then. He immediately introduced me to his friends and made it pretty clear that my seat would be beside him from then onwards. Suguro was from the beginning a little cold, not really talking to me or anyone for that matter unless he needed to. Konekomaru, on the other hand, was a kind boy and I had to admit that I liked him from the trio the most.

„All right, brats, let's start!" a familiar annoying voice stopped Shima in his rambling and Shura walked into the room.

Every time I saw her as a teacher, she seemed to be kind of pissed and bored at the same time. It was evident from her face that teaching some highschoolers was a hassle for her. And today was no exception.

Despite her zero motivation and evident lack of effort in making herself less vulgar with her clothing and be more teacher-like, I had to admit that she was good in explaining things demon related. She wasn't a textbook teacher but someone with experience and as she said, some books will do a shit when you are in a life or death situation. Knowing exactly what she meant, I was glad she was who she was.

„That would be all for the day," she closed her book at the end of the lesson.

„Just two more things. There are still some of you who didn't submit what Meister they want to study for, so don't cause me troubles and hand those forms over," she glared at us angrily.

I, Shima and Paku stood up and one by one handed the forms. To be honest, I had no idea what Meister I should go for and even now I was unsure about my choice.

„What did you choose?" Shima asked me when we returned to our seats.

„Doctor."

The pinkhead whistled at my choice and it seemed that he wanted to start the conversation but was quickly silenced by angry Shura. She surely must have hated organizing something.

„Second thing," she glared at Shima and then at everybody else, „our training camp is starting today. You know of that old dormitory building on the other side of campus? We will be crashing at that place for the next week. No need to worry, your meals will be taken care of. The camp will be more like a study session really and it will last a week until your Exwire Exam. Just pack your things at dorm and meet me there at six. That's all," she ended and exited the room.

„A Doctor, huh?" the pinkhead casually continued in our conversation.

„Yeah, well, I don't think I have a talent for being a Tamer, Knight and Dragoon are impossible for me since I'm not that strong and Aria is a bit..." I made a face since the last one didn't quite suit me even though I was certainly capable of memorising verses.

„I see. I went for Aria!" he grinned without a worry in the world.

„Yeah?" both I and Konekomaru looked at him with unsure expression. He was not the type cut out to become an Aria after all.

After the cram school ended we headed back to our dorm to pack our things. We didn't really have that much time until the appointed meeting time so we made it quick. Surprisingly even thought I was the one who diligently packed all his things and Shima was the one who just grabbed and tossed a bunch of T-shirts into his bag I was still done sooner.

Having a little bit more time I grabbed my bag, promised Shima to meet him and the others outside and headed over to the kitchen. I was aware that I wouldn't be seing my brother for a week.

„Sorry, Yuki, but Rin was temporarily placed to another kitchen. Didn't he tell you?" one of the older ladies gave me an apologetic look.

I was dumfounded. I never heard such a thing from my brother. It wasn't like I was angry at him or something like that, it just surprised me. For thinking he would just disappear like that because of his job without telling me...

I thanked the lady and headed out of the building where the Kyoto trio had already been waiting for me. Together we went toward the direction where the old abandoned building was.

„I hope it's not gonna be too run-down," Shima voiced our shared concern.

„It should be alright. I heard that it is still inhabitable even though a little bit run-down. They are apparently often using the building for cram-school purposes," Konekomaru smiled chasing our worries away.

After that we walked in silence until we reached our destination. As it happened, we were the last ones to come. That was to be expected since the guys had to wait for me since I was looking for Rin.

„You are late!" Shura glared at us menacingly.

The others shrank under her glare, but I was too distracted to even notice it. My attention was aimed at someone who was deffinitely not a part of our class.

„Hey, Yukio! How was your day?" Rin greeted me with a raised hand in the gesture and a shit-eating grin.

„W-what the hell are you doing here?" I yelled and pointed my finger at him succesfully getting everyone's attention.

How was it that he would always appear when I expected it the least? And why couldn't he just notify me like any normal person before he did that? Like: „Have a nice day! I will see you at your training camp."

„What?" he tilted his head. „I was put in charge of cooking for you guys for the next week!" he cheerfully confirmed my suspicion but didn't change the fact that I was pissed at him. Why did he always do this?

„I'm Rin Okumura. Nice to meet you guys!" he addressed then toward the other boys who slightly bowed their heads as a greeting.

„Okumura? Coincidence?" Shima immediately looked at me which earned him a sigh.

„No. He is my older brother," I explained to him, yet he was not the only one who was curious about the explanation.

„Um, aren't you working in our dorm's kitchen? I think I've already seen you there," Konekomaru wondered.

„Yup I do!" he confirmed and then the others introduced themselves to him.

Meanwhile we moved into the building and followed Shura up the stairs where she was leading us toward the rooms. I managed to get to her side and start a silent conversation.

„Why is Nii-san here?" I whispered to her.

„Why shouldn't he be here? We needed a cook anyway. He volunteered and since he has an experience with exorcism it was decided he was the best choice if anything went wrong. Not that you lot have to worry about something like that. We are just going to study for the most part of this camp," she shrugged.

„If something went wrong?" I narrowed my eyes.

„Don't!" she furrowed her brow.

„It's just the worst possible scenario when someone's familiar goes berserk or something. Just don't think about it, things like that doesn't happen anyway. But if they do, it is better to have personnel that don't panick and are at least helpful. To tell you the truth, we were to have originally a kitchen demon do the cooking but Rin was a better alternative."

„Better in which way?" I muttered to which Shura chuckled.

„Don't be so sour. You might even learn something from him."

I wanted to say that I doubted it yet I rather bit my tongue. After all, I had no idea how vast the knowledge of exorcism my brother possessed was. But as I knew him, I couldn't bring myself into thinking that he would be of any help in Anti-Demon Pharmacology.

Soon, my brother and Shura left us all on the second floor to choose our rooms. None of us wanted to sleep in the room alone, except for Takara who picked the room on the other side of the floor away from ours. The rest of us divided the same way we were in the dorms. The girls had room together, Suguro and Konekomaru had room together and I ended up once again stuck with Shima.

We had a while to unpack and then we were summoned by Shura into an empty room to study. Honestly, I had no idea how long we were cramming and writing Shura's hellishly hard tests, only that I was totally done afterwards. Shura was a demon when she wanted to.

„Alright guys, time to wrap this up. Girls, let's have a bath before dinner. You boys can take one after us. And Shima, if I saw your pink head anywhere near the bathroom, consider yourself to be a dead man," she smiled at my roommate and then left together with the girls.

I glanced at the said boy who seemed to be struggling with himself. None of us doubted that peeking at the girls was deffinitely what he had been planning to do, yet Shura was scary even when she wasn't angry, hence weakening his determination. In the end, he just gave out a defeated sigh.

„You done already?"

I glanced at my brother standing at the door and simply nodded.

„Girls?" Rin asked.

„Taking a bath," I explained since no one else seemed to have the mental strength to do so.

„And you are not trying to sneak a peek?" Rin grinned to which I just groaned.

„If," Shima spoke up looking at my brother, „if we did try, would Shura just laugh it off?"

Rin looked at him seriously and then grinned, which brought a shining smile on Shima's face. „She would tear you apart limb by limb, cruelly and without hesitation!" The smile wanished and the boy's face turned sickly pale.

„That being said," Rin clapped his hands, „wanna have dinner before the girls are done?"

All five of us, including Takara, nodded and headed down to the dining room. Rin had already prepared the plates and cutlery, the only thing he needed to do was serve the food. Then he sat down and watched the rest of us stuffing our cheeks with a content smile.

„It's amazing!" Konekomaru praised to which Rin just giggled as an idiot.

„Hey, this juice is aloe, right? How is it it's so good?" Shima marveled, his glass in his hand.

I noticed Rin's little pleased smile, before it grew much more shiny. „That's because it's freshly made, my special recipe! Shura has a lot of plants for exorcist purposes stored in the back room on the fourth floor. So I borrowed some."

 _He is really the happiest when someone praises the meals he made,_ I thought, a light smile spreading across my lips. I knew that Rin had always secretly wished to open his own restaurant someday and the moments like these proved that he would certainly be able to do that. But ...

 _Will he really be able to? Won't I just ruin that for him?_ Suddenly, I lost my appetite. The thought that I might be weighing my brother down and would continue to do so in the future was just too much for my stomach to swallow.

The thoughts like these bothered me for the next few days and must have really showed on my face since the fourth day of the training camp Shura couldn't handle it anymore and punched me in the head in the middle of one of her satanic tests.

„Stop that! That martyr-like expression is really annoying!" she hissed and then turned to grab and pull Shima's ear for trying to use the opportunity and peak behind her back on Suguro's answers.

„Was I making that bad kind of a face?" I asked Paku once we finished.

„Well, you deffinitely looked kind of unhappy. Is something troubling you? You can talk to me if you want," the girl offered smiling sweetly.

„I admit there is something on my mind, but it's nothing really. Don't worry about it. I appreciate it, though."

Paku smiled at me again and then run off to Kamiki's side. I watched them for a second and then decided to use the short break we had to walk downstairs and into the kitchen to make my brother a company.

„Smells good," I said once I walked in sniffing the air.

Rin turned to face me and snickered, waving the knife in his hand like real pro. „Will taste even better! Having a break?"

„Yeah," I nodded and then fell silent, watching my brother doing his magic.

„Hey, Yukio," Rin suddenly broke the silence giving me a serious look.

„What is it?" I tilted my head.

Rin stayed quiet for a while. He put the knife away, washed his hands and then walked toward me pulling a small piece of paper from his pocket.

„I wanted to wait until after the dinner, but since we are alone now," he said and handed me the paper.

I took it and inspected the magic circle drawn on it. „Is that a summoning circle?"

„Kind of. You know how the summoning is done, right?"

„Yeah," I looked at my brother, question in my eyes.

„Just promise me to have it at yourself from now on in the case of emergency. You don't have any kind of weapon, Kurikara's not counted," Rin gave me a look and then returned to his work.

„But I don's have a talent at summoning. In Neuhaus-sensei's class I wasn't able to summon anything," I looked at the paper knowing well that it will be useless for someone like me.

„Talent doesn't matter. Just put it in your pocket and don't go anywhere without it. Even in this building during the rest of the days of the camp," he said with the little dark tone which didn't allow any room for an argument.


End file.
